


you are the life (i needed all along)

by streetspirit



Category: Mortal Instruments Series - Cassandra Clare, Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Baking, F/F, First Kiss, Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-08
Updated: 2016-07-08
Packaged: 2018-07-22 08:07:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,473
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7426849
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/streetspirit/pseuds/streetspirit
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Isabelle decides to bake a cake for Alec's birthday, but it doesn't exactly go as planned. Luckily, Clary's there to help.</p>
            </blockquote>





	you are the life (i needed all along)

**Author's Note:**

> okay so you can never have enough clizzy and i felt like writing, so here! 
> 
> also, this is kind of canon divergence? basically The Kiss still happened and clary's mom got out of the coma thing she was in, but jace never left. and obviously clace and sizzy don't exist here (i'm sorry). i just want them to be happy, ok?
> 
> and sorry if I got any shadowhunters technicalities wrong!! don't hate me.

Isabelle didn’t know how she found herself making a birthday cake.

It started out as an idea she had for Alec’s birthday, but she didn’t realize she was seriously going to go through with it until she found herself standing behind a kitchen counter with an assortment of ingredients staring back at her. Isabelle was by no means a baker - in fact her food-making skills left little to be desired. But she felt that  _maybe_ if she found the right recipe and made sure to do everything word-for-word, the cake might just turn out okay.

Luckily, Alec was rather simple in his taste preference, so a traditional chocolate cake seemed to suffice. The only problem was Isabelle was pretty much in it alone; Alec couldn’t help make his own surprise cake, Simon was somewhere in the Institute, Jace and Clary were training, Luke had some police business to deal with at the station, and Magnus apparently had something “very special” planned so Isabelle felt like bothering him would be rude.

Thus, she was left to complete the task of cake-baking by herself. Isabelle wrapped an apron around her waist, got out a bowl to combine her ingredients, and glanced at the opened page of the cookbook Clary had gotten her. It had a middle-aged woman on the front who seemed to be smiling a bit too widely for it to be genuine, but the recipes seemed decent enough and Isabelle appreciated Clary for gifting it. Most of her family and friends would poke some fun at her cooking skills - or, lack thereof - but Clary was always more supportive. Not that Isabelle was terribly affected by the banter of her close ones; it just felt nice to have someone who had your back no matter what, even in the smallest ways.

Isabelle had already moved into the process of combining her dry and liquid ingredients, and she was starting to regret not buying a cake from one of the local bakeries or at the very least getting some cake mix. Then again, she also thought that Alec might appreciate her making the treat from scratch. And if all turned out well, she’d have the opportunity to prove her friends that she wasn’t horrible at cooking or baking one hundred percent of the time.

The recipe called for the use of an electric mixer, and Isabelle was surprised to find a handheld one in a nearby drawer. It looked as though it hadn’t been used in a while, so Isabelle wiped it down a bit with a damp cloth before proceeding to plug it in. The device seemed fairly easy to use with a few buttons to control the speed and removable whisks. Since the book told her that a medium setting was ideal, she put it on “3” and turned it on. Mixing went well for a moment until her thumb slipped slightly, causing her to press the “6” in place of the previous setting. Losing some control caused the cake mixture to fly in different directions, and Isabelle found some of the chocolate batter splayed across her apron, hair, and even her face. She was more concerned, however, about the loss of nearly half of her creation. To even get that far was a pretty big accomplishment for Isabelle, so she couldn’t help but be discouraged.

Isabelle simply stared at the mess for a while, as if to get it to clean itself up, when someone spoke behind her.

“Izzy, do you need help?” Clary was standing in the doorway, leaning on her side a bit. She was still wearing her training clothes, which consisted of a tight-fitting tank top and sweatpants. Since the girl had presumably just arrived from practicing with Jace, there were a few beads of sweat along her forehead, and her ponytail was coming undone.

The look still managed to suit Clary, and Isabelle had to stop herself from staring a bit too long. “Oh - uh, that’d be nice. I’m just trying to make this cake for Alec’s birthday tomorrow, and it’s not exactly going well. As you can probably tell.” She motioned to the batter still stuck to her apron and body, making Clary chuckle slightly.

Clary moved into the kitchen, picking up a towel on her way to Isabelle, and came up to the other girl. “I can help you make the cake. I used to make one for my mom’s birthday every year growing up. Luke would sometimes help out too, but he said I was pretty good on my own.”

Isabelle smiled softly. She was happy that Clary finally had her mom back instead of having to see her in a comatose state with no way to communicate with her. It made Isabelle’s stomach knot slightly to think that her own mother was never that close with her, but she quickly tried to get the thought out of her mind.

“First, though, I think you might have to get cleaned up.” Clary brought the towel she was holding up to Isabelle’s face and started to wipe it off. While she did it, she was scrunching her nose - an expression that Isabelle personally loved to be witness to.

“Clary, if you have to do something else and can’t help with the cake, it’s okay. Like in case you want to shower or whatever. Not to say you smell bad,” Isabelle rushed to add in the last part, making Clary laugh as she finished cleaning the last of the chocolate from Isabelle’s face.

“I don’t mind taking a short detour to help a friend. Unless it bothers you?” Clary stepped back when she was done, folding the towel back up.

Isabelle immediately shook her head and grinned, “No, it doesn’t.”

“Great! So is that the chocolate cake recipe from the cookbook I gave you?” Isabelle nodded in response to Clary, holding out the book for her to see.

Clary skimmed the page quickly before gathering the same ingredients Isabelle had previously used and a clean bowl. “Okay, so while I get the mix started, you can preheat the oven and grease the cake pan.

“Preheat the oven? Oh my angel, I totally forgot to do that last time.” Isabelle placed her face in her hands.

“Rookie mistake,” Clary said with a smirk on her face, and Isabelle immediately lightened up again.

While Clary was stirring away as if she’d done this a million times before, Isabelle walked over to the oven to heat it up. Once everything in that department was set, she decided to go to Clary and see if she needed anything else. Unfortunately, an egg slipped out of Clary’s hand and landed right before Isabelle.

Isabelle had barely touched the cracked egg with the front of her shoe when Clary caught her around the waist. “That was close.”

Still being held up by Clary, Isabelle looked up at her before responding, “Fast reflexes. Maybe next time I shouldn’t wear heels in the kitchen.”

“Then I finally wouldn’t be the shortest one here.”

The rest of the pair’s baking time went by without any other complications. They did, however, have a small “flour fight” which resulted in a splotch of the white powder across Clary’s nose and Isabelle’s cheek. It didn’t seem like a priority to either to wipe it off; both girls were thoroughly enjoying the time spent together. Over the weeks, the two had gotten much closer, but there still seemed to be a bit of unfamiliarity in the air between them. All of that seemed to be taken care of by the time they had finished Alec’s cake, Clary washing some of the utensils while Isabelle spooned out leftover batter and ate it.

“Honestly, Clary, I probably would’ve given up and bought a cake if it weren’t for you.”

Clary blushed slightly, glad that Isabelle couldn’t see her with her back turned. “It’s no problem, Iz. I’m sure Alec will like it; plus it’ll be be great to rub it in his face that _I_ helped make it.”

“He’ll probably be more concerned that I came within five feet of the process. Don’t really blame him though, considering the meals he’s had to sit through that I made.”

“I’m sure they weren’t that bad.”

“Oh, trust me, even I have to admit they were. Shockingly enough, most of the food I made managed to look better than it tasted, which is saying a lot considering my presentation skills were subpar at best. Speaking of - I was wondering if you could frost the cake? You’re so great at art so I thought, if you’re okay with it.”

With a wide smile, Clary agreed. The cake itself had been done for some time, and the two were just waiting for it to cool before decorating. Clary spent the lull admiring some of the runes along Isabelle’s exposed arms and asking questions about them. Although Clary had quite a few covering some parts of her own body, Isabelle had some that Clary had yet to have. It made Isabelle feel special, having Clary run her eyes over, even if it was just for her marks. But she couldn’t deny that the other girl’s gaze was giving her other ideas.

“I think the cake’s cool enough now,” Clary spoke up after tracing the “destined” rune, leaving Isabelle feeling a bit sad from the lack of touch.

“Yeah - I’ll get it.”

Clary got some of the frosting collected in one area, also creating a makeshift piping bag that left Isabelle in awe. It wasn’t very difficult to make at all, but Isabelle appreciated how Clary always knew how to be so resourceful.

The duration of the cake-decorating process was spent with Clary focusing all her energy on perfectly frosting the cake while Isabelle watched her. The small details of Clary’s face managed to captivate her - the way her forehead always creased ever so slightly when she narrowed in on something, and her mouth hung just the tiniest bit open. Clary had redone her ponytail at one point, but some strands refused to stay in, creating more of a messy look. But, as Isabelle had learned from seeing so much of the other girl, Clary wore it well.

By the time Clary had finished, Isabelle barely noticed as she was too caught up paying attention to the curve of her neck.

Clary caught the way Isabelle looked at her, but didn’t say anything, instead hiding a smile into her shoulder before announcing the completion of her work. “So, does this meet 'Alec' standards?”

Isabelle’s eyes snapped back to the cake. As with everything Clary worked on, the cake looked incredible. She’d coated the chocolate cake with a light blue frosting, and the words “Happy Birthday, Alec” were written across the top with white. “Yes! I’d even say it surpasses his standards.” She laughed, knowing her brother would like it too.

“Then my work here is done. I have to say, Iz, I’m proud of us.” Clary glanced back at Isabelle, making sure to hold her gaze for a few seconds longer than usual.

“Me too, thanks again-” Isabelle started, but she didn’t get to finish as Clary stepped forward and kissed her. It was short and sweet, yet to Isabelle it felt like it lasted much longer. When Clary pulled away, Isabelle kept her eyes on her lips.

“Was that okay for me to do?” Clary asked, a little hesitantly. Her arm was hovering slightly over Isabelle’s waist, unsure whether to proceed or not.

“I think you know the answer,” Isabelle said with one corner of her mouth lifted slightly. She tipped Clary’s chin up and placed her lips against the other girl’s. This time, Isabelle didn’t just imagine the longevity of the kiss - she was sure it lasted for a good few minutes. The kiss was hardly messy, unlike some first kisses Isabelle had with other people. In fact, the two moved so in sync Isabelle found it a challenge _to_ mess it up.

“Wow. I’ve been wanting to do that ever since you came to the Institute,” Isabelle confided once the two had officially pulled apart.

“One of us should’ve acted sooner.” Clary twirled a strand of Isabelle’s hair with her finger.

“With Jace being all heart-eyes around you? I was sure you two would become a thing sooner or later. Or if not him, at least Simon.”

Clary’s eyes widened, and then she started giggling. “Iz, I never had feelings for Jace _or_ Simon. I mean, I love them for sure - but they’re like family to me. The only one I’ve ever really felt anything for is, well, you.”

It was Isabelle’s turn to be shocked, and she took Clary’s hand. “Don’t get sappy on me already, Clary. There’ll be time for that later.”

“So I’m assuming that means you want to take things further? Like, a relationship?”

“If that’s what you want.”

It must have been the hundredth time Clary met Isabelle’s eyes, but this time there was something else behind them. So much... _l_ _ove_. No one had ever made Isabelle feel like that before. “I’d be more than happy to call you my girlfriend, Iz.”

“And I would be happy to call you mine.”

“Glad we got it settled then.”

The cake was eventually placed away into the fridge, concealed by some bags of fruit and leftover pasta. Either way, it was unlikely Alec would find it, and Isabelle was pretty certain that her brother would end up spending the night at Magnus’s.

Jace came into the kitchen as the two girls were about to leave, and Isabelle noticed him lingering slightly around Clary. She sighed happily, knowing that she wouldn’t have to worry about jealousy anymore; Clary was her _girlfriend_. And never before had the thought liberated her so. Seeing Alec take back control of his life and go after the man he truly loved had given Isabelle confidence that the same could one day happen to her. She’d never thought it would actually be with Clary Fray, the vivacious newcomer Isabelle had grown to care for.

“I guess I should be taking that shower now,” Clary said once they were upstairs, near the bedrooms.

“Of course. We can talk later, right?” Isabelle asked.

Clary lifted a hand to Isabelle’s cheek and cupped her face lightly. “Yeah, maybe you could come to my room and show me more of your runes?”

This time, Isabelle was the one to blush, and she did so profusely. If there was one person who could completely obliterate the confident aura Isabelle possessed, it was Clary. “Maybe.”

A quick kiss was exchanged, and Clary made her way into her own bedroom, leaving Isabelle in the corridor. She placed her head against the wall, a warm feeling encompassing her.

Clary was Isabelle's girlfriend. And Isabelle was Clary’s.

**Author's Note:**

> hope you liked it!! <3 i'll probably never get sick of writing these two


End file.
